Mystical Adventures of Team Unicorn
by RutilaeComae
Summary: More FF5 fluff for Olivia, Lauren, and I.
1. Chapter 1

The sun peeked in through the windows, waking Olivia and Lauren, but Kenzie just pulled her TARDIS blue comforter over her head and continued sleeping. Since Family Force 5 had hit it big, they'd been getting a lot more money which meant that their favorite roadies got bigger paychecks and those roadies could afford a really great house.

The three members of Team Unicorn lived in a huge wood-cabin-esque house. Lauren and Olivia had rooms downstairs and Kenzie had called dibs on the huge open loft just up the ladder from the living room.

Kenzie had a mattress thrown on the floor by the left side of the loft, though she rarely actually slept on it, a drawing desk pressed up against a huge window, a dresser against the right wall, a changing screen in the corner (since she had no walls for privacy), and several precariously placed beanbag chairs.

Olivia's room had huge, picture-frame windows and a bed set into the wood floor and draped with black sheets. One of the white-painted walls was entirely taken up by bookshelves and there was a little nook in the back where she and Josh could get away together for a few minutes when the world was annoying them.

Lauren's has not yet been described to me.

It was high noon when the FF5 guys burst through our front door, Lauren and Olivia watching the plasma screen TV hanging opposite of our big, cozy couch. Jacob slid across the wood floors and plopped down next to Lauren, giving her a big kiss and rubbing noses. Olivia fake gagged at the couple and stood to meet Josh in the middle of the room. He wrapped her up in a big bear hug and kissed her forehead. The next several minutes were full of greetings and hugs and the like. Nathan stood awkwardly alone, slapping a drumbeat on his thighs and straining his neck to look around the huge first floor.

"Um, guys?" Everyone turned to face him, raising questioning eyebrows. "Where's Kenzie?"

"Oh..." Lauren said, finally understanding why he was being so antisocial (Well, more so than normal). "I think she's still asleep. You can go wake her up if you want."

Nate nodded, silently thanking Lauren, and climbed up the ladder to Kenzie's loft. Kneeling down by her bed, he kissed her on the forehead. Kenzie mumbled something incoherent before sitting up, running her fingers through her messy hair and adjusting the strap of her Captain America tank top. "Don't you people knock anymore?"

"There's … There's no door, babe." Kenzie extended an arm and Nate's eyes followed her finger. There was a freestanding door, doorframe and hinges and all, in the middle of the open space at the front of the loft. "Oh. That's new."

"Yeah. But, whatever. Just knock next time."

"I will," Nate said, laughing at his half-asleep, completely ridiculous girlfriend. He started back down the ladder as Kenzie rolled out of bed (literally).

"All clear?" Kenzie shouted down the group below.

"All clear!" Olivia shouted back.

Nate quirked an eyebrow. "What are y-"

"GERONIMO!" Kenzie leapt from the edge, Nate screaming and panicking in the brief moment of her fall. She landed perfectly on the conveniently placed trampoline, front-flipped once and then flipped off of the trampoline, landing on the big empty loveseat. Olivia and Lauren produced score cards from God-knows-where, holding up eights while the rest of the band cheered.

Nate was still trying to slow his heartbeat, gesticulating violently. "Don't! Don't EVER do that again! You scared me to DEATH! YOU could've DIED."

"Oh, hush. I do that all the time." Kenzie said, trying to fix her hair before Jake smacked her hand, saying the 'messy look was hot'.

"She's gotten a lot better at it!" Olivia added, giving a thumbs-up to the superhero-PJ clad girl who was now sprawled out on the recliner. "She hasn't hurt herself for almost 3 weeks!"

The twins started laughing, remembering the time they'd been there to see Kenzie sprain her ankle by attempting a back flip. Nate didn't seem to find the retelling of the tale funny in the slightest, especially because he had been told that she "slipped on the ice." He was rather protective. As opposed to Jacob, who was up in Kenzie's room, with Lauren, practically pushing his lady off of the edge. Solomon, Josh, and Derek were all up there too, waiting patiently for their chance to take the leap.

The majority of the day was packed with "Wait, watch this!", "I wanna try this!", "Lemme go!", "Jake, you cut me in line! Go to the back!", "Shut up, Soli. No one cares!", and the like. After about three hours of childishness, Nate and Kenzie glanced up from the couch and noticed that they were alone. Where was everyone else? Muffled giggles from behind the closed doors of Lauren and Olivia answered two thirds of the question, but where were Derek and Sol?

Nate and Kenzie looked up at each other, mortified by the grunting sounds they heard from the guest room. Apparently, everyone else had heard them too because their heads were peeking out of the doors, looking just as disgusted as the two in the living room. They all crept towards the guest room, the noises getting more and more vomit-inducing. Dear Lord, what were they DOING? Were those … Bed springs we heard?

"That's it! I can't take it!" Josh kicked in the door, Olivia melted a little at how sexy he was when he did it, and everyone stared at the scene before them.

Derek and Soli were sitting on the bed, bouncing up and down, moanin' and groanin'. They started cracking up, falling over and gasping for air. No one understood what was happening.

"We got bored!" Soli said between short, desperate breaths.

"We thought we'd prank y'all!" Derek said, surprisingly immature and inappropriate.

Jake threw up his arms, turning around and starting back towards Lauren's room when he was tugged back by a firm grip on his shirt. "What?" he almost whined.

"I think this makes a point…" Lauren said, Olivia and Kenzie knowing exactly where she was going with this. "Maybe we should try a little harder to include the guys in what we do. We can't just be constantly making out with our significant others."

"Not that we mind that!" Kenzie and Olivia added in.

"Right. But we always leave Derek and Sol by themselves. I sorta feel bad about it, ya know?" Lauren turned to see the two other couples sucking face in a completely exaggerated manner. "Guys! I'm serious!"

"Fine, fine. You're right." Olivia said, wiping her mouth off on her sleeve. Josh shrugged.

"Good. So from now on, we'll try our best to be less … Touchy-feely."


	2. Relationships Demise Part 1

They were playing a show in Nashville tonight. Kenzie, Lauren, and Olivia were sitting on a couch backstage, aimlessly flipping through the pages of some shallow, superficial magazines.

"Ugh. This is stupid." Olivia groaned, looking at a perfect blonde model who has been Photoshopped to the point of inhumanity.

"It's disgusting." Kenzie added, turning the magazine upside-down and trying to make sense of an advertisement in it.

"Bleargh!" Lauren made a face at the 'Relationship Tips' page, sticking her tongue out.

"Nice to see you ladies being so positive," Josh said, walking by with a large amp in his arms.

"You know us! Always so perky!" The girls gave him their cheesiest smiles and he chuckled.

The rest of the night went on as it usually did. Life on the road, even with Family Force 5, could get a bit monotonous. Twiddling with phones and iPods, poking at each other and trying to entertain themselves, the girls followed the band around to the meet and greet and merch tables and then back to the stage.

"Natey! OMG, hi!" The shrill voice came from across the stadium. The whole group looked up. 'Natey'? No one called him that… Except for the perky, pretty blonde with glittery eye shadow and false lashes who was running, in her 5-inch heels, over to the keytarist.

"Um… Hi…" Nate gulped. "Lauren." He looked over at the rest of the band with pained, confused eyes. They all shrugged.

Lauren had absolutely destroyed him. She left him, via a picture message of her and some other man, with no notice. He had been head over heels for her and she threw him away as if he were some boy-toy nobody. He had been crushed and it took him up until meeting Kenzie to stop thinking about it. Even then, he still took a while to completely get over it. Now it was like someone had ripped open the wound he stitched up and rubbed salt in it. How could she act like nothing had ever happened? Well, no one knew how, but she did.

Lauren threw her arms around Nate, giving him a big hug while he stood stiffly, refusing to return the embrace. She even kissed him on the cheek, to which Kenzie was not pleased. She started towards to bouncy blonde, glaring, but Lauren (our Lauren) grabbed her shoulder and shook her head. Kenzie grimaced, crossing her arms and staring daggers into Lauren's head. When the hell was she going to let go? Nathan finally forced her off and made polite conversation, trying his best to include other people but Lauren was so close that she made it impossible for them to join in. For every step Nathan took back, she took one forward. He was practically cornered. Kenzie stayed after everyone else had wandered off, not because she was jealous or worried about Lauren making a move, but because she knew Nate would need her there.

Lauren finally let them go, saying she would be at their show the next night and Nate had said she could hang out backstage. Why? He didn't know. He said stupid things sometimes. Lauren would be there at noon tomorrow for a day of fun … Oh, joy.

Nate walked back to the bus without a word. His eyes looked hollow and Kenzie didn't know what to make of it. He was never like that. He went straight to bed without speaking to anyone. Not even Kenzie. No kiss goodnight. No "I love you." Nothing. Kenzie sat on the couch, chatting with Derek about guitars, ignoring her boyfriend's weirdness. She thought Lauren was alright, but she had broken Nate's heart and that made Kenzie wary of her.

Olivia, Lauren (our Lauren), and Kenzie sat on the couch, just like yesterday, mocking the culture they lived in and the way the magazines portrayed it. Lauren Blackwell bounced into the room. The girls on the couch looked at each other with questioning eyes. How was anyone this bubbly all the time? It was annoying. They spent the whole day with her. She was nice. Kenzie didn't mind her, so long as she wasn't being all touchy-feely with Nathan. In fact, Kenzie sort of liked her. Except for the part where she had ripped Nathan's emotions to shreds.

Everyone eventually went off on their own, leaving Nathan and Lauren alone in the lounge. Kenzie trusted him enough to leave him there and he'd said he'd be fine. Team Unicorn spent their day at the local record store, digging through dusty albums and grinning at the treasures they found. The rest of the band either slept or ate or wrestled. The girls strolled back to the venue, albums in hand, Kenzie with a new vintage tee she'd found at the secondhand store down the road. They were laughing and joking, just like always, poking fun at life and each other. Olivia headed to the bus with Lauren to put away their purchases, but Kenzie wanted to show Nathan her discovery: a vinyl copy of Vertical Horizon's latest album. She tugged it out of the sleeve, ready to see the look of shock on his face when she walked in.

She opened the door and dropped the record, hearing it shatter on the ground but her eyes never left the scene in front of her. Nate's lips pressed against the cherry red ones of Lauren Blackwell. Nate tore himself away, Lauren looking confused, and held up his hands as if he were surrendering to the cops or something. Kenzie glared at Lauren, her fists clenched tightly at her side. Nathan had been ambushed. Lauren kissed him, he didn't kiss her. He wouldn't do that. It was all her fault and she'd just walked in at the wrong moment. Nathan was going to push her away. Right?

… Right?


	3. Relationships Demise 2

"Babe. Babe, it's not what it looks like." Nathan crept slowly towards her, hands still up, wariness in his eyes.

"Nate, it's fine. I know you didn't…" Kenzie turned around without finishing her sentence. "I'm gonna go look for a broom." She was so calm. She wasn't yelling or crying or anything. Completely stoic. Amy got up and left without a word. She was clearly done there. Nate stood alone in the room, staring at the shattered pieces on the ground. He saw the label in the middle. Oh, no. Vertical Horizon? She'd bought this for him? He knelt down, picking up the pieces and trying to fight the guilt that was slowly devouring him.

Kenzie returned, broom in hand, and swept without a word. Nate tried to apologize, but she just kept telling him it was okay and it didn't matter and it was all Lauren's fault. Nate just nodded. They returned to the bus together, hand in hand, and were met with questions as to the whereabouts of Amy.

"She left," Kenzie said calmly, setting her records on the table and showing Jacob her new tee.

"Ooh! I like it!" Jake grinned.

"I thought you might!"

Nathan just stood there. His eyes were hollow again. Kenzie shrugged. He just needed time to get over that awkward moment. She wasn't really one for feelings or comforting people or anything similar to it. Olivia and Lauren were jamming to Aerosmith in the back lounge and Kenzie joined them. She didn't feel like discussing feelings. That, and it didn't bother her much. She was certain that Nate had been attack-kissed and that he had not consented to it in any way. She was confident in her trust in him.

None of the boys knew what to do. Well, none but Josh. He knew what heartbreak was like but Nate wouldn't respond to anyone. He just sat there, staring out at the bleak sky, motionless. The next several days, Nate was not himself. He didn't sleep, he didn't eat, he barely talked. The only thing time he spoke was when he would try to apologize to Kenzie, but she just shut him up and told him it was fine and that she knew Lauren kissed him, not the other way around.

It was a week after the incident when Kenzie and Nathan were alone on the bus.

"Kenzie… Kenzie, I'm sorry… I'm so, so sorry…" Nate said, standing in the doorway to the front lounge. Kenzie turned from him, heading towards the couch.

"It's fine, babe. I know you didn't-" he grabbed her arm, turning her around and staring into her eyes.

"It's. Not. Fine. Stop saying it's fine!" Kenzie backed away, Nate's eyes filling with tears.

"Nate, I know that she kissed yo-"

"NO!" Nate collapsed onto the couch, sitting with his face buried in his hands. "No, she didn't!"

Kenzie looked puzzled. "What do you…"

He looked up, eyes teary, panicked, and guilty. "_I_ KISSED HER! _I_ initiated it! _I_ made the move!"


	4. Relationships Demise 3

"Oh." Kenzie's legs ceased to function and she fell to the couch across from him, quivering. "I see." The disappointment in her voice was almost tangible. Nate was nearly ripping his hair out, hot tears racing down his cheeks. He hated himself. He hated what he'd done. Why did he even do it? Why did _she_ still have this sort of control over him?

"I'm sorry … I'm so, so sorry … I-" he choked out through the tears. Kenzie sat in silence. She stared at the floor, mentally beating herself up about this. _I should've seen this coming. This always happens. Why did I think this time would be different? I'll just never be enough…_ The thoughts flew through her mind, a million miles a minute, bringing tears to her eyes. _No._ She never cried. Crying was pointless, just like feelings are pointless. Crying accomplished nothing, especially when done in public.

Nate heard the bus door slam and looked up to see the seat across from him empty. Kenzie was gone. Running. He could see her out the window. Where could she possibly be going? Her house was a good 30 minutes away by car. But that was the direction she was sprinting towards. He hung his head and dug his nails into his skull. Feet pounded up the steps. "Dude, we just saw Kenzie hop into a tax- Oh." Josh and Olivia stood silently in front of a broken man. Jake, Lauren, Derek, and Soli weren't far behind and Derek rushed to Nathan's side. No one knew what to say because no one knew what had happened and no one dared to ask.

After about half an hour of awkward silence, Soli spoke up. "Nate…" He hesitantly placed his hand on Nate's shoulder, but it was shrugged off. "What happened…"

"I don't want to talk about it…"

"Do you know where she was going?"

"No…"

Olivia and Lauren were getting concerned. Kenzie wasn't the type to run off like that. Luckily, Josh had caught the taxi number and they found it about two miles into town. Lauren tapped violently on the glass window, startling the cabby. He rolled down his window. "Hey! Hi. Um, did you happen to drive en emotionally distraught, young, brunette somewhere recently?"

"Um… Yes?" The cabby's southern accent was thick and his drawl was nearly unbearable.

"Where did you drop her off?" Olivia asked eagerly, barely giving the cabby time to finish his 'yes.' Nathan just stood silently behind them, trying to hold himself together.

"Right here. Why? I really don't think I should be answering these questions…"

"It's fine, we're her friends, did she say anything about where she was headed?"

"She was on the phone with someone. Sounded like a teacher or something. She asked if he had any more classes to teach today and then asked if she could come ove-"

"Thanks! Bye!" Lauren said, turning away. "I know exactly where she's going."

"How?" Olivia was lost. How was that information helpful at all?

"She mentioned to me once that she had a good friend who was a professor at Vanderbilt. Physics, I think. His name started with an M…"

"Well then what are we waiting for? Let's go!" The three of them were off in a cloud of dust, racing towards the college-clustered area of Nashville. They skidded on the slick floor of the entrance lobby at Vandy. After interrogating the secretary, they learned the name of the man they were looking for and the location of his office: Professor Ian Mundy, office 2B down the hall, to the right, then to the left. Lauren and Olivia stayed in the lobby, letting Nathan go alone into the maze of class rooms and offices. Nate turned silently around the final corner and stopped dead in his tracks.

He saw a mahogany door swing open and then Kenzie flung herself at a tall, slender professor. The lean, muscular arms enveloped her in a protective embrace, one of his massive hands cradling her head. Nate didn't know what to think. Who was this guy? He went to take a step forward, creaking one of the floorboards. A pair of piercing blue eyes shot open, staring through a veil of shaggy blonde hair, glaring at him. Warning him. Ian knew full well who Nathan was and didn't want him one step closer to the wreck that he held together. He turned, leading Kenzie by the waist into his office, slamming the door behind him.


	5. Relationships Demise 4

Nate slumped against the wall, collapsing to the floor. He sat, waiting for her to come out, for two hours. But she didn't. That mahogany door stayed shut and locked. He didn't know what to do. He made his way, slowly, back to the lobby where Lauren and Olivia were stretched out on the couches. They jumped up when they saw him and looked around excitedly for Kenzie. Nate just hung his head, shaking it side to side. Lauren and Olivia rushed over to him, giving him a big hug and starting towards the door. They hailed a cab and rode back to the tour bus in silence. Nate didn't wait for them to get out, he didn't hold the doors, he didn't walk slowly enough for them to catch up. He just headed straight for the doors of the bus, throwing them open and slamming them shut behind him.

The rest of the band stood to meet him, wondering where everyone had been. They gawked momentarily when they saw the look on Nathan's face. Nathan was always stoic. He was emotionless. But not now. The keytarist's face was tensed, fighting off tears, contorting his mouth in an attempt to keep it shut, knowing that if he let himself open it, he would scream. He walked straight back to the bunk area, pushing through his band members, ignoring their questions. Olivia and Lauren ran onto the bus, their men greeting them with big hugs and swift remarks about how they had been worried about them. Then it dawned on all of them: Kenzie wasn't there.

Solomon was surprisingly concerned. His big, brown eyes were full of worry and confusion. Derek was pacing, shooting out questions and not giving anyone time to answer. He and Kenzie had grown close in the past several months, bonding over their shared love for fitness and guitars. Josh stood, seemingly emotionless. Jake was about the same. He and Kenzie were friends, but they weren't super close. Sure, she let him play with her hair but that was about it. For Lauren's sake, he tried to look concerned.

Olivia finally started to answer Derek's questions.

"Where is she?"

"Vanderbilt."

"Why?"

"We don't know."

"Is she with anyone?"

"Yes."

"Who?"

"Professor Ian Mundy. Apparently, they've known each other since high school."

"What are they doing?"

"We don't know. Nathan says they hugged for a really long time, Ian glared at him, and then they went into his office."

Derek rattled off question after question, but the answers for them were mostly the same: "We don't know."

Sol went into the back to check on Nathan. No one knew why he was so concerned today. He was generally so conceited that he never noticed anyone else's problems. Well, no one really cared about _why_ he cared. They were just pleasantly surprised that he did. Everyone was starting to calm down in the front of the bus when a crash came from the back of the bus, closely followed by a Nathan's voice, roaring, "LEAVE ME ALONE!"

Sol stumbled out into the front lounge, slamming the door behind him, and shrugging. He stopped caring. He'd tried and it didn't go well. He just wanted to go home. They had two weeks off after the show tonight and he couldn't wait to relax. The show went … Well, it went about as well as a show can go when one of the members' moods are swinging from fury to depression with every second. Nate stormed off of the stage, throwing down his keytar and heading straight for the bus. Olivia and Lauren ran after him, whispering to each other. "It's a shame Kenzie wasn't here tonight. The rage was pretty sexy."

They came home, after an awkward bus ride, to find a note from Kenzie: "Sorry about today" and a little drawing of a chameleon. It was how she signed all of her notes. Lauren clambered up the ladder and peeked over the edge to see if Kenzie was there. She was. So was Ian. They were both out cold, collapsed on the huge mattress, almost cuddling. Lauren muffled a gasp and silently gestured for Olivia to come look for herself. They both stood, mouthing various exclamatory phrases and gesticulating violently. They eventually gave up and went to bed, hoping for an explanation in the morning.

They woke up to see two sets of long, muscular legs dangling from the loft, swinging back and forth. "Morning, Kenzie!" they called up. "Morning … Uh …"

"Ian." A smooth, charming voice called down. "Good morning to you, too!"

"Morning, guys!" Kenzie called. Her voice was surprisingly cheery. She leapt from the loft, landing on the trampoline, and motioned for Ian to do the same. For the first time, the girls got a good look at this mystery man. He was tall, skinny, but muscular. His bright blue eyes shone with kindness and wisdom beyond his years but they were partially hidden by a veil of shaggy, blonde hair. He held out one of his massive, calloused hands for them to shake but was met with awkward, cold stares. He pulled back his hand and shoved it into his pocket, nodding understandingly.

"Who are you?" Lauren said, her Solomon-like temper starting to show.

"Professor, soon to be doctor, Ian Michael Mundy."

"What are you doing with Kenzie?"

"Talking with her. Listening to her. Comforting her. Making use of my masters in Psychology."

"How do you even know her?"

"We met in high school… Why am I being interrogated? Did I do something to offend you?"

"Yeah! You did!" Lauren was almost yelling.

"No, you didn't. We're just curious." Olivia cut in, hoping to spare some of Lauren's dignity.

"What the hell is wrong with you guys?" Kenzie shouted over all of them. Lauren and Olivia stopped and stared as if should've been obvious what the hell was wrong with them.

"Well, he … And you … And you guys were … And Natha-"

"Don't."

"Wha-"

"Don't. Mention. Him." Her voice was stern and icy.

"Kenzie, you don't understand. He's tearing himself up about this!"

Kenzie didn't reply. She just stared, boring holes into their souls with her eyes. God, they were so creepy when she was mad. They didn't look like the summer sky… they looked like wells of sharp, brutal ice. She stormed down into the basement, Ian running after her, shouting "Nice to meet you!" before shutting the door. Kenzie was gearing up, sliding on a pair of boxing gloves onto her hands and starting towards the punching bag hanging from the ceiling. Three hours past before the rest of Team Unicorn saw their emotional wreck- Friend. Their emotional friend again. It was unsettling to see her like this. She was normally stoic, just like Nathan. But this had ripped her to shreds, just like it had done to Nathan. The two weeks of break went on and, day in and day out, Ian would be there, with Kenzie, in the basement and Nathan would try to win back Kenzie's affection. He would send car magazines, comic books, stuffed Pokemon, anything he could think of, with notes of apologies and begging for forgiveness. Kenzie pretended to ignore them.

Lauren and Olivia returned to the tour bus, ready to go for the one show that they had booked for the next several weeks. No one said anything about the missing third member. No one wanted to know what reaction they would get from Nathan, who sat, staring out the window, his face like stone. All of a sudden, his stood, throwing his phone across the room and screaming. Everyone turned and stared. His teeth were clenched, his face red, his chest heaving. He collapsed back onto the couch.

"_**WHY?**_ Why is so hard to get her back?"

"Nate, what happened?" Josh's hand was patting his fellow band member's back as he took a seat next to him.

"I've tried, and _tried,_ and _**tried**_ and she's … She's just … UGH! I sent her … I sent her this playlist … It was all of her favorite songs … Her favorite love songs … And she replied with … With that!" He gestured to the phone that was lying on the floor against the wall. Soli picked it up and looked at the list.

"Ouch, man!" He read through them. "Every Day I Love You Less and Less. It's Not Me It's You. Liar, Liar. Man, she is pissed."

Lauren laughed. Everyone stared. "What? That's not at _ALL_ what she listens to at home!"

"Well, what _does_ she listen to, then?" Soli snapped.

"Songs like Almost Lover and sappy stuff like that. All emotional or whatever. And at the piano, she keeps playing that one tune."

"Oh, yeah!" Olivia said, humming what she could remember of it, Lauren joining in.

"Happier." Nate said, looking up at them.

"What?"

"Happier. It's the name of a song. One of her favorites. And the lyrics to that part … 'Say what you mean… What you mean is that you'll be happier without me, without me, without me. So, lie to convince me that I'll be better off.'" He hung his head again, digging his nails into his scalp.

"Rough, man…" It was Sol. He didn't really know what to say, but he needed to break the awkward silence.

Nathan vented to the girls a lot. He asked about Kenzie even more. He assumed that she was going out with that Ian guy all the time, but was happy to be told differently. Lauren and Olivia actually laughed out loud when he asked if she was out all the time.

"Are you _kidding?_" They said through chuckles. "She's barely left the studios in the basement!"

"Studios? When did you guys get studios?"

"They've always been there. One art studio, one recording studio. She only leaves them to go running or to eat. Some crazy good stuff coming out of there lately."

"Is um… Is-"

"Ian? Yeah, he's still there. But he's married with a little one on the way. The two of them are just friends. Been super close since her sophomore year, then got even closer in college. He was at Vandy, she was at Belmont. They saw each other a lot."

Things were finally looking up for Nathan. She missed him. She wasn't as pissed as she tried to make it look like she was. She wasn't seeing someone else. She was creating art. And that made her happy. And that made him happy.


	6. Relationships Demise 5

Nathan stepped into the TU house. The door had been left unlocked and the large, open living room was filled with the enchanting melodies of a glossy, ivory keys. He had entered silently and Kenzie, who was sitting at a beautiful grand piano, had not heard him. She continued playing, singing along, "If the sea should swallow up my house, I will turn the rooftops inside out and the wind will be wailing … But I will be sailing faster. Oh, the elements, I do not fear but I fall apart when you appear because you are the greatest … The greatest disaster." The last note rang out, harmonizing perfectly with the final chord played on the piano. She took a deep breath and Nathan strolled across the room. She knew he was there. And she ignored him. She started to play again, a song called "Mutiny Below" by Ludo. The music started slowly, her body bouncing in time with it.

"Here I am at home again, this rainy afternoon.

Put me in my proper place; I'm not the one for you.

But you're here now… Can you come in?

It's freezing…

I found a way to burn your face and smear the words you said.

You make me feel alive again; I wish we'd never met.

But you're here now… Can you come in?

I'm freezing…"

Nathan knew that she was aware of his presence. She wouldn't be singing this if she wasn't. He stood, listening, the whole time and laughed at the end of the chorus. Kenzie whipped around.

"Sorry," he chuckled. "It's just funny because … It makes no sense for a girl to sing that part."

"So." She glared at him, but he walked over and sat behind her on the bench, one leg on either side of her. She started to play again. It was "Don't Wake Me" by Skillet. Nathan's arms wrapped around her waist and he rested his head on her shoulder. He pressed his lips against her neck and her voice trembled. He stood, taking Kenzie with him and turned her around to face him. She looked away but he turned his head to catch her lips.

And the door swung open.

It was probably just Lauren or Olivia coming home from the after party.

"HEY." The voice was angry. And certainly not that of Lauren or Olivia. Nate turned around, leaving Kenzie on her tip-toes, wanting more. She opened her eyes and saw a skinny, whorish blonde standing in the doorway. It was Lauren Blackwell.

Nathan ran over to her and swept her into his arms. Kenzie gawked. What… What was happening? Nathan had put Lauren in a dip and was kissing her passionately. Kenzie tried to step forward, protesting, but Nathan held up a hand, never tearing his lips from those of Miss Blackwell, and walked out with her.


	7. Relationships Reconstruction

Kenzie was absolutely devastated.

She couldn't bear the pain or the disappointment.

The disappointment in herself.

She hated to fall … And she had let herself fall for Nathan too far, too many times.

She stood on the roof of the Team Unicorn house, staring down at the unfilled pool below her.

She was on her tip-toes, her arms spread out wide.

She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, leaning forward …

And letting herself fall one last time, never to fall again.

Nathan shot up, screaming, his eyes flying open. His body shook with each quick, heavy breath. He felt the space in the bed next to him. She wasn't there and he started panicking. He leaned over and snatched the phone, dialing her number and waiting impatiently for her to pick up.

"Babe?" The voice on the other end of the line was groggy.

"Oh, thank God!" Nate breathed a sigh of relief, collapsing back onto the mattress.

"Why the heck are you calling me at 3:19 in the morning?"

"I just needed to be sure…" He really didn't want to explain the dream, so he tried to leave it at that, but Kenzie pried and he retold the whole story, ending with "So… I just needed to be sure it was a dream… That you were still alive… That I hadn't lost you…"

"Alright, I guess I'll forgive you for waking me up, then," she chuckled, trying to wake herself up.

"Can… Can you come over?"

"Um… Yeah, I guess so. I'll be there in five." Kenzie hung up the phone and considered making herself decent but decided against it and climbed into her Mustang, still in her pajamas. She drove to Nathan's house, trying to stay awake, while he paced the kitchen. She pulled into the driveway and clambered out of the car, jogging up the walkway to the door. It was colder outside than she expected. She rang the door bell, shivering in her Captain America tank top and short-shorts. Nate flung the door open and scooped her up into his arms. Kenzie reveled in the warmth, clinging to his bare chest as he pulled her inside and closed the door.

Nathan picked her up, carrying her wedding-style up the stairs to his room and plopping her down onto the bed. Kenzie giggled and scooted over so Nathan could lie down. She spent the night there, wrapped up in his sheets and his arms while he went on about how horribly guilty he felt in the dream and how he would never do that to her.

"Babe, it's fine," Kenzie whispered, running her fingers through his hair.

Nathan laughed uneasily, remembering what had happened right after she'd said that in his nightmare. "Don't _ever_ say that. Please."

Kenzie mumbled something compliant and drifted off to sleep, laughing to herself at the reaction she'd get from the girls if she texted them in the morning saying she'd slept with Nathan. Yeah. She'd definitely be doing that.


	8. Back To Cuteness

Kenzie rubbed her eyes and sat up, turning just in time to see Nathan wrap a towel around his waist. Dang. She should've woken up about 2 seconds sooner. Nate caught her staring and gave a jokingly disapproving nod before shutting the bathroom door. Kenzie hated that he kept her morals in line sometimes, but it was good for her. She flopped back onto the bed and closed her eyes, pulling his puffy, grey comforter over her face. She didn't want to get up but there was no choice. Her phone was buzzing like crazy with texts and missed calls. Olivia and Lauren had freaked out when they noticed that she wasn't there.

Kenzie laughed at the crazy messages her friends had sent. "Were you abducted by aliens?" "Did the Doctor finally come for you?" Each one was more and more ridiculous. She was cracking up by the time she'd listened to all of the voicemails and read all the texts. She sent back a simple reply, but knew that it would get more of a reaction than if she really had been abducted by aliens: "I'm fine. At Nathan's. Spent the night."

Her phone rang almost immediately. Olivia and Lauren were screaming and bombarding her with questions. She just laughed and waited for them settle down.

"SO? Did you?" It was Lauren, shouting into the phone.

"Did I what?"

"Did you… Ya know… Sleep with him?"

"Yes."

"WHY ARE YOU SO CALM?"

"Because it makes you crazy!" Kenzie laughed. "And because we didn't _sleep_ together. We … Slept together."

"… What … That doesn't even … What?"

Kenzie laughed again. She loved this. It was hysterical to her. Nathan came out to look for his shirt, noticed Kenzie laughing, and cocked an eyebrow. Kenzie just pointed to the phone and held it out for him to hear the voices coming from it. He nodded understandingly and continued to look around the room.

"Hey, babe? Have you seen my-" Nate turned to look at Kenzie, who was sitting on the edge of the bed with his flannel shirt on. "Oh. I forgot you put that on last night." Kenzie sighed and held out her arms. Nate hopped onto the bed and pulled the shirt off of her, revealing that Captain America tank she loved so much.

"Ooh, he's undressing me now." Kenzie said into the phone, suppressing a giggle. Nate rolled his eyes, smiling, and started buttoning the shirt. He could hear Lauren and Olivia on the other end, freaking out and then saying something about letting her go and "get it, girl."

"You're awful," Nate chuckled. "I love you."

"Nice Ludo reference."

"I mean it. The love part, not the awful part. Well, sometimes you're awful, but- I'll just stop talking now."

"Good choice," Kenzie said, brushing Nate's soaking wet hair out of his face and lacing her fingers together behind his neck. "I love you too, by the way." She pulled him closer, their foreheads touching.

"I'm gonna be late to the studio…" He said, kissing her quickly.

"I really don't care," she whispered, taking his bottom lip between her teeth. And with that, Nathan was very late to the studio.


	9. Olivia's Dress

"Jacob, you have to start talking to me eventually," Kenzie hollered as he walked past her, into the bunk area. He was still, even after three weeks, quite a bit upset that she had shaved her head.

"Ignore him," Nate said, coming up behind her and resting the side of his face atop her fuzzy head. "I love it."

"Me too!" Sol grinned, shoving Nate out of the way to put Kenzie in a choke hold and give her a good old-fashioned nuggie. Kenzie laughed and freed herself from the little guy's grip, slugging him in the arm before she ran off the bus. Olivia and Lauren were waiting patiently, bubbling with excitement. They were going shopping for Olivia's wedding dress that day.

"I can't believe you're getting married!" Lauren squealed as she hopped up and down in a circle around Olivia. "This is so exciting!" Olivia chuckled and started towards the bridal shop a few blocks down the road. It had been a while since the engagement but her friends were just as hyper about it now as they had been the night it happened.

"Calm down, dude!" Olivia laughed as Lauren and Kenzie danced around her singing "Josh and Olivia, sitting in a tree!"

When they finally arrived, Lauren and Kenzie regained their composure and threw open the doors.

"Hot. Dang," Lauren gasped. They place was full of beautiful, white gowns.

"It's like Cinderella's closet threw up in here," Kenzie whispered, tilting her head towards the floofy, princess dresses to their left. "And you are totally trying all of it on."

"… Not my style …"

"Too bad!" Lauren and Kenzie were off in cloud of dust, grabbing the most ridiculous dresses they could find. After all, you only get to go wedding dress shopping once. Well, for Olivia at least.

Speaking of the bride-to-be, Lauren and Kenzie couldn't find her anywhere. They could hardly see over their armfuls of dresses, but still. Where could she have gone? They dropped their finds in a dressing room and wandered towards the back of the store. Olivia was standing there, looking at a simple, grey dress. It was nothing fancy. Long, but no ridiculous train. No fancy embroidery or diamonds or anything on it. It was just a simple, V-neck dress… and it was perfect.

Olivia took it down from the hanger and started towards the dressing room with her bridesmaids on her tail, making her promise to try that one on last.

For a good three hours, Olivia tried on all sorts of silly dresses. All three of them were crying from laughing so hard at how ridiculous some of them were. Lauren and Kenzie had managed to pick out the gaudiest gowns in the store. After all of them had been worn, the simple grey dress hung alone in the little room and when Olivia walked out in, Kenzie and Lauren's jaws hit the floor. It was like it had been made just for her. It hung loosely, almost like a sundress, down to her ankles, the thin shoulder straps leading to a low-cut back. Olivia was glowing and Lauren was tearing up.

"Oh my God!" Lauren managed before completely choking up. "You look amazing!"

And she did. She looked nearly like an angel.

"I think this is the one!" Olivia grinned, some tears welling up in her own eyes. "This is it!"

The three of them walked back to bus with Lauren and Kenzie gushing about how stunning Olivia looked in her dress. They hid it away in Jake's suitcase, letting him take a peek at it first, promising not to show his twin. He adored it. It was exactly Olivia. Not any other dress would have been right.

And after the exhausting day, the three girls flopped onto the couches and nuzzled up against their men, Olivia admiring the ring on her finger the whole time.


End file.
